Investment banks are always trying to come up with new ways to help investors put their money into stocks and shares. These banks create products that need to be sold by institutional sales representatives. These sales representatives serve consultation roles for clients by figuring out what their financial goals are and figuring out how the products sold by the investment banks can help these investors.

Function

Institutional sales workers work for investment banks and sell securities to individuals and companies. They must work in a team, locating potential sales leads through market research. These institutional sales workers are also responsible for communicating with clients who have contacted the investment banking company. They are also responsible for finding out what their customer’s financial goals are and then providing them with the products necessary to meet these goals. The institutional sales worker is responsible for organizing company meetings to talk about progress made with sales. Progress made by the institutional sales representatives must be logged into electronic databases.

Conditions

Management often places a great deal of pressure on these sales representatives to drive sales. Travel all over the world is common for institutional sales representatives, who can find themselves working with clients almost anywhere. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, these representatives tend to work more than 40 hours a week.

Skills

A master’s degree in finance or economics is needed for those interested in working in institutional sales. Institutional sales workers must have at least two years of work experience in investment banking or another financial service. They must have very good analytical skills in order to be able to assess the needs of their clients. They must have the traditional sales skills, such as communication skills and interpersonal skills. These sales workers must be thoroughly knowledgeable of the sales strategies of the company they work for.

Outlook

Between 2008 and 2018, the need for institutional sales representatives and other investment sales representatives is expected to grow by 9 percent. This is mostly driven by population growth and growing economies overseas. This industry is not growing more because many of the investment banks are consolidating, which reduces the number of positions.

Earnings

In 2008, the median earning for institutional sales representatives was $68,680. The middle 50 percent earned between $40,480 and $122,270. Institutional sales representatives tend to earn the most in security and commodity contracts intermediation and brokerage.